


Out Of Time

by juiceboxjellyfish



Series: Carry On Countdown 2017 [3]
Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: AU, Angst, Baz pov, Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Simon POV, SnowBaz, Time Travel AU, Why did I do this to them, but more angst, i hate this, i just want my boys to be happy, victorian au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 13:28:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12842157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juiceboxjellyfish/pseuds/juiceboxjellyfish
Summary: Simon is a time traveller who accidentally ends up in victorian London. He's not planning to stay, but then he meets Baz...





	Out Of Time

SIMON, too early.

I’m in the middle of victorian London. That’s not even close to what I was aiming for! I really have to do something about that, because it’s not a new problem. Last week I ended up in ancient Greek when I was aiming for medieval France! It might not be the machine though, I’m not actually the best at technology. Or history. I’m really not the ideal time traveller, am I? Oh well, I might as well enjoy London while I’m here. It is beautiful.

Houses and roads are covered in fluffy white snow, and the streets are busy with horse carriages and pedestrians hurrying along. Even though I only arrived a moment ago, my hair is already full of snow. At least I got the season right this time, so my clothes are appropriate, if a little off for the time period. Would’ve been a lot worse if I’d been aiming for an Australian summer… I pull my coat tighter to hide my far too modern shirt and hope that nobody notices. 

As I’m walking down the street, I suddenly hear someone shout my name. I turn around, but I don’t expect them to actually mean me. I haven’t even been to victorian London before, so nobody here could possibly know me. Despite that, someone is running towards me. It’s a very handsome young man in a dark green coat, with slicked back black hair that almost reaches his shoulders. I’m absolutely sure that I haven’t seen him before, because I would remember that face.  
“You came back!” he yells.  
Then he stops right in front of me, as if he was going to hug me but realised it might attract even more unwanted attraction. He’s smiling widely and looks like he’s about to cry, and he takes my hand.  
“I never thought I’d see you again” he says. He has to be mistaking me for someone, so I pull my hand out of his.  
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I ask as politely as I can. He freezes in place.  
“Baz” he says, and looks at me like I’m crazy.  
“You know…. Basilton?” he continues, his voice lowered to a whisper.  
“I’m afraid I don’t know. You must be mistaking me for someone” I explain calmly, starting to turn around.  
“But…” he starts, but I interrupt him.  
“I’m not even from London. I hope you find whoever you’re looking for, but it’s not me. Goodbye.”  
It feels like he’s watching me walk away, but I don’t turn to look. I should just get in my time machine and leave.

 

BAZ, way earlier but also a lot later.

He really came out of nowhere. A strange man in strange clothes, way too warm for the season and with designs as out of place as his messy hair and his odd bag. He told me he was lost and needed a place to stay, and I let him live with me. It was a reckless and spontaneous decision, but I’ve never regretted it. 

When he came into town that sunny day in June, he assured me he was only staying for a short while and that I didn’t need to worry about him taking up any space, because he’d be gone before I knew it. To my great joy, he didn’t keep that promise.

From the moment he showed up, he never ceased to amaze me. He knew so much about the world and all its countries, and he knew things about the universe that surpassed anything I’d ever read in any astronomy book. He spoke weirdly and used odd words and abbreviations, completely unknown to me. But while he had all that incredible knowledge, he seemed to be confused about simple everyday things, and something about him always felt out of place. 

We were admiring the night sky when he told me. He grabbed my hand and turned to me.  
“Baz, do you believe that it’s possible to travel through time?”  
“Well Simon, you can make me believe in anything.”  
“Then would you believe me if I said I was a time traveler?”  
“I would. Are you?”  
“I am.”  
“I’m assuming you’re from the future and not the past, based on your clothing and your knowledge. Is that correct?”  
“It is correct. Does it freak you out?”  
“Not in the slightest. Can you tell me about the future?”

Simon explained to me that he ended up in London by accident, and that his time machine had broken down. He said that he had originally planned to just fix it and then leave.  
“What made you change your mind?” I asked him.  
“You did” he responded with a smile. 

Now it’s been almost a year since Simon showed up in town, and we’re sitting in a field looking at the clouds. The sky is mostly clear and the clouds are fluffy, and we’re alone. Simon’s shirt isn’t buttoned all the way up, and you can see the moles on his neck. His skin is golden in the sun and his blue eyes look like a summer sky. With his curly bronze hair glowing like a halo around his head, he looks like the sun. When he smiles, he feels like the sun too. His hand is so close to mine in the grass, and I could sit like this forever.  
“Simon?” I say, and he hums in response. “I have a question about the future.”  
“Good thing I’m an expert. What do you want to know?”  
I feel heat rise to my cheeks, and suddenly it’s difficult to speak. I swallow.  
“In the future… Can men love other men?”  
“Yes they can. They can even get married if they want to” Simon responds with a smile. Once again it’s tough to get any words out.  
“Then I wish I was from the future” I state silently. Simon grabs my hand and smiles at me.  
“Men can love other men now too. They just have to be more discrete” he says, looking straight into my eyes, and a flock of birds awakes in my stomach. Then I close the gap between us, and his lips meet mine.  
And it all feels right.

 

SIMON, before it was too late.

I didn’t expect to stay in London. I was just going to get some repair parts and then leave. However, preparing a modern time machine using victorian technology is hard. It took a lot longer than I expected, and once I met Baz I kind of stopped trying. Something about him was very vaguely familiar, but I don’t know where I would have met him. I don’t exactly spend a lot of time in victorian London. Or at least I didn’t before. I practically moved in there after meeting him. I had nothing against staying in victorian London for him. 

After many months of secretly dating, Baz sat me down at the dinner table.  
“Simon” he said. “I know that we haven’t known each other for a long time, but I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I want to be with you, and I don’t want to hide. Will you bring me to the future?”  
“Anything for you Baz. I love you so insanely much too. I’ll start fixing the time machine right away.”

It’s march when I add the last part to the time machine engine. Baz is standing next to me, smiling excitedly.  
“Oh Simon, I can't wait to be in the future with you. I’ll be able to kiss you without making sure nobody can see us, and we could actually go out together… I love you so much!”  
“I love you so much too. I honestly didn’t think I could feel this intensely about anyone, but I would cross the universe for you.” Baz kisses me softly but passionately.  
“Okay, I’m just going to make a quick trip to make sure the machine works, and then I’ll come and get you and we can live together in the future. Okay?”  
Baz kisses me again and then steps out of the machine.  
“See you soon” he says with a smile.  
“See you soon” I respond, and start the machine.

 

BAZ, later and too early.

Simon didn’t come back. I stayed out all night and most of the following day waiting for him, but he didn’t return. For a few weeks, I told myself he just got the date a little wrong on the way back, but soon that hope faded too. He wasn’t coming back. 

Because the universe is so cruel that one moment, you’re planning the perfect life with the person you love above everything else, and the next he’s gone forever. I didn’t even try to love someone else after Simon. I knew that there was no point. Nothing could ever compare to the love I felt for Simon, and nobody could ever make me forget the time travelling man who showed up out of nowhere and flipped my whole existence upside down, turning my dull life into an incredible work of art. That’s not something you recover from.

All of England is preparing for Christmas, but I don’t care. The snowfall that everyone else is calling a Christmas miracle does nothing but remind me of Simon Snow, and the fact that he's gone.  
Despite seeing no point in it, I go out to get Christmas gifts. The streets are busy with people and horse carriages, and everyone is in a hurry to get their shopping done. That’s why I notice him. Amongst all the hurrying people, someone is walking calmly, just looking at the city. His bronze hair is full of snow, and he’s pulling his slightly out of place coat tighter around himself.  
“Simon!” I shout, and when he turns around there’s no doubt it’s him. It was just the date after all! He’s back! We can go to the future together! My chest fills with sunlight, and I feel as if the snow should be melting around me as I run towards him.  
“You came back!” I exclaim, my eyes filling with tears of joy. I want to kiss him right now, but I stop myself. It’s probably a really bad idea to do that on a busy street. I reach for his hand.  
“I never thought I’d see you again” I confess, smiling from ear to ear. He looks at me blankly and pulls his hand out of mine.  
“I’m sorry, who are you?” he asks.  
“Baz” I respond, wondering how he could possibly not recognise me. He looks even more confused now, and my heart starts sinking.  
“You know… Basilton?” I continue, but it comes out as a whisper.  
“I’m afraid I don’t know.” he says. “You must be mistaking me for someone.” Then he starts to turn around to walk away. My head is spinning and I can barely speak, but I do anyway.  
“But…” I start, but he interrupts me.  
“I’m not even from London. I hope you find whoever you’re looking for, but it’s not me. Goodbye.” And he walks away. I just stand there in the snow, staring at his back as he leaves. I want to run after him, I want to scream that it’s me, that we’re in love, that he was going to take me to the future, but I don’t. I just stand there in the cold, with warm tears flowing down my face.

Did I mean nothing to him?

 

SIMON, out of time.

The engine sounds weird. It’s not as smooth as usual, and it’s making a worrying knocking sound. I change the date to the 2100’s just to be sure I can get the tools to fix it when I land, but before I can confirm the change the machine gives up. I land with a loud crash, and I can hear things rattling around inside the engine. If it wasn’t before, it’s unflyable now.

I step out of the machine and look around. I’m in a small village, so I run down the street until I meet someone.  
“I’m sorry, but what year is it?” I ask desperately, grabbing a man by the arm.  
“1506” he responds, shocked and confused by the question.  
His confusion doesn't lessen when I sit down right there on the ground and start crying, but I don’t care. I sit there crying until i run out of tears.

Because the universe is so cruel, that the same kind of accident that gave you the love of your life will also take him away from you.

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SO SORRY FOR DOING THIS I'M SO SORRY AAAAAH  
> TOMORROW'S FIC IS LESS DEVASTATING I PROMISE
> 
> Please don't hate me ;-;
> 
> Also leave a comment if I made you sad 'cause then it was like kind of worth it to write this


End file.
